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Break out the shears: It's pruning time By JOHN DARLING,for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By JOHN DARLING,for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 14, 2004 @ 2:00 am Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 9:46 AM By JOHN DARLING,for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 14, 2004 @ 2:00 am Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 9:46 AM » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> It's time to get out the shears, the pruning saw and the loppers. It's time, while buds are still dormant and hard frosts are behind us, to prune. Now is a good time for pruning, says horticulturist Mike Cady of Jackson & Perkins, an authority on roses and fruit trees. The chances for a hard freeze are past but most plants are still dormant. Deciduous trees and shrubs don't have their leaves yet and it's easier to see what you need to cut away. This opening ritual of the gardening season is done for several reasons ' to cut away dead, diseased and damaged branches, thus saving more energy for the healthy parts (also producing healthier and more plentiful flowers and fruit), to rid cross branches that touch and rub each other and to shape the architecture of the plant, making it more pleasing, open to sun and stronger in later life. Every plant is different, and gardeners need to learn in books and classes and by studying on the Internet when and how to prune each one, but, said Master Gardener Marsha Waite, basic pointers apply to most bushes and trees: When you prune a branch, leave a small collar rather than flush cutting it. Without the collar, the plant may not heal and will be vulnerable to disease and insects. When cutting off a big branch, undercut it so that when it gives way, it doesn't peel off the bark on the underside of the branch. Prune off any branch with less than a 30-degree angle from the trunk. These are weak and can be broken by wind. When they're big, they can kill a tree. Don't head trees. Heading ' whacking off with a horizontal cut ' opens the plant to disease and bugs and causes lots of ugly little branches (called suckers or watersprouts) to grow vertically, soon filling the space you cut. Prune fruit trees at planting to balance tops with roots. Prune young trees lightly. Prune mature trees more heavily, especially if they've not grown much lately. Prune the top part of a tree more than the lower part. Don't wait too late to prune. Don't prune branches with buds unless you're willing to lose the flowers for the year. Prune spring-flowering shrubs after they're done flowering, from late spring on. Wait till after the first frost when foliage is dead to prune perennial flowers. Trimming them to the ground helps prevent fungus in dead foliage. In pruning, nature doesn't always know best. Skipping this task, said Master Gardener Carol Robinson, means shrubs, trees, roses and other plants get taller and taller, leggier and leggier and uglier and uglier, till they loom two feet over your head and are pretty unhealthy from deadwood and branches rubbing against each other. If you procrastinate on pruning and try to catch up later in the season, you can take out the dead branches with no problem, but doing anything to live parts brings up the risk of losing the flower or fruit for the year, she said. When pruning, it's good to open up the center to let more light come into lower branches and to think of the tree as vase-shaped, Cady added. Make your decisions about what (and why) to cut before you start cutting. Most cuts should be thinning cuts ' that is, branches pruned at point of origin, he said. Hedges should not be trimmed with flat tops or vertical sides, according to booklets recommended by Master Gardeners and available for a few dollars at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center on Hanley Road in Central Point. Instead, go for arch-like shapes, which let in more sun and require less trimming. With evergreens, you need only to cut out the dead branches. The aesthetic part of pruning boils down to this: accentuate, thin (don't head) by cutting branches to their point of origin, open up the shady middle and lower parts, but don't try to change the natural form of the plant. Roses need pruning in early spring or they get scraggly looking and susceptible to disease and bugs. However, they're particular and you have to read up on the needs of each species ' or attend a class. Weekend class offers help for rose pruners Would-be rose pruners can get help at a weekend class offered by Janet Inada, president of the Rogue Valley Rose Society and owner of Rogue Valley Roses, an Internet business. Inada will offer a free class at 2 p.m. Sunday that explores methods of pruning, architectural shaping, deadheading, fertilizing with alfalfa meal and the training that should take place with roses this time of year. The old advice to prune roses back to where there are five leaves on a branch is no longer being done, she said. Rosarians now prune higher on the branch, resulting in more and faster flowering. For directions to the class, east of Phoenix, call 512-1604. By JOHN DARLING,for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By JOHN DARLING,for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 14, 2004 @ 2:00 am Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 9:46 AM » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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